The Ministry of Housing says it is continuing to place serious emphasis on the work of the Village Housing Committees.

Last Friday, the Minister with responsibility for Housing, Yolande Bain Joseph, Permanent Secretary Veda Bruno Victor and National Housing Coordinator, Ronald Straker met with all the Housing Co-ordinators throughout Grenada to further discuss and implement the new strategies to tackle the housing problems created by Hurricanes Ivan and Emily.

The Ministry of Housing will be providing the labor and materials to repair over 2000 more houses and construct 300 more houses by the end of 2005 free of cost. This means that by year-end, Government would have helped at least 8000 families with material and given out nearly 800 homes.

The Housing Village Committees, that are chosen by the villages themselves, will be assisting in selecting those persons who are most in need to benefit under the programmes.

Minister Bain Joseph told the coordinators that they will have to double up their efforts to ensure that all the various Village Housing Committees are functioning effectively. "Emily has left new challenges and every one must be totally committed to the task ahead if we are to rebuild better", she said.

The Housing Minister urged the members to remember that need is the main criterion for selection. "Every decision must be transparent and should be able to stand up to scrutiny. Don't let friendship and political affiliations affect your decisions in any way. Choices should be made strictly on the basis of need, that's the only criterion", she told the gathering.

The meeting was the latest in a series geared towards strengthening and reactivating all the Housing Committees across the Island.

(Submitted by the Ministry of Social Development)